By DAN VALENTI

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012) — There is no such thing as wishing someone “Happy D-Day.” Too many soldiers on both sides of the conflict died that day and in that war.

D-Day occurred long before we got used to televised war, live and in color, brought to you by Revlon. The time delay from when acts of war occurred to when people “back home” not only found out about them but got to see them through images allowed war to achieve the supreme status of myth, through the experience of it after the fact by those on the home front.

Those who were there in the “deep muddy,” however, won’t elevate war to anything beyond its literal status. We should listen to them, the vets who were there, and who, alone can tell us that all war is futile, with nothing “just” or “noble” to it, since it is the product of greed. War produces no “heroes,” only victims. We have never met a combat veteran who disagreed with this.

Relatively little film survives of the morning of D-Day, grainy images of the frightened first wave under murderous fire, Omaha Beach, U.S. First Army (V Corps, 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions). Robert Capa, shooting for LIFE magazine, took the most famous photos that day.

Capa got into a landing craft with Company E, 16th Regiment, he hit the surf with them, 100 yards from the beach. Under heavy fire, he hid behind a steel obstacle and began shooting. He exposed 106 frames on three rolls of film. But then …

… an error by a darkroom technician later that day (he dried the film too quickly) ruined all but 10 of the frames (one of those frames is published here, at right). Few other photographs were taken on Omaha Beach in that first wave.

THE PLANET won’t turn this into a history lesson. We only pause to remember the largest amphibious invasion, before or since, in world history. It set off a chain of events that ended in my father finding himself on the front lines in Belgium in January 1945 in the Battle of the Bulge and seeing things no one should ever see. He, like they, did his duty.

Troops leave the Higgins Boat, stepping into rough surf and heavy fire, on the morning of June 6, 1944, Omaha Beach, France.

I think today of my father, who — in his 92nd year of life and in excellent health — tomorrow celebrates 68 years of marriage to my mom.

I think of the poor guys stepping off of Higgins Boats (photo, left) on Omaha Beach on that morning so long ago, nowhere to hide, in a mass of confusion, and being mowed down by withering assault.

I think of those guys, risking all, wondering why, and hating every minute of it, so we could defeat totalitarianism and preserve the American way of life. That way included our once-cherished freedoms, which have been gradually eroded, deliberately undermined by selfishness of a few and taken for granted by the masses. We, though, try to build freedom. We try to buoy it with the selfless work of true journalism. We shall never take it for granted.

For this reason, THE PLANET abhors any actions that would silence a free and fearless press in furious defense of the same liberties fought for on D-Day.

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MORE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE GREAT WTBR FLIP FLOP

Apparently, we need to spell it out again, because there are some who just can’t or won’t “get” it. The situation at WTBR, where a veteran talk show host’s previously approved new show was pulled before it could air for the first time, has nothing to do with the question of whether adult programming should or should not be allowed on a high school radio station. Another far important issue trumps the “adult programming” debate.

The issue strikes at the heart of journalism’s function in a community reeling in economic hardship with a power structure too comfortable, too complacent, and too corrupt to really care about the struggles of everyday people. In a community like this, when journalists allow themselves to be bought, the results aren’t pretty. All you have to do is look at what’s happened in the city of Pittsfield for the past 25 years.

Those who are now trying to steer the debate into side matters or make it go away reveal themselves to be stooges of what is clumsily called for want of a better term the GOB.

High Crimes and Malfeasance

Flip Flopping Away, or "The Man in the Goofy Hat" or "Would you want this man as your News Director?"

The issue is this: We have a rare example where a so-called “journalist” not only went back on his word but also willfully acted against what he says he knows to be Right, merely because he got pressured from outside interests that he refuses to name. Thus, there are three high crimes here:

(1) The betrayal of a person (Bill Sturgeon by Larry Kratka).

(2) The betrayal of professionalism.

(2) Ignoring what someone in his conscience knows to be Right.

(3) Getting “owned” and not being tough in the face of pressure.

THE PLANET has long lost track of the many times outside interests have attempted to buy, beat, coerce, or otherwise scare us off a story. It happens less and less now, but every time it has, we have spit in the face of the people trying to corrupt us. As Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson says in The Hustler to a pool-room thug, “I don’t rattle, kid.” We also share another guiding direction learned long ago as a lad from our cowboy hero, Roy Rogers: “If a little guy is in the right, all he’s gotta do is keep a comin.’”

Larry Kratka got rattled. For a man, that’s an admitting to a lack of moral character. As a journalist, that’s career suicide. As long as Kratka hides from this story, which he himself created, by refusing to name those who “got to him,” everything he does from this point forward will be suspect. He has not only betrayed Sturgeon and soiled WTBR, he has poured a heaping bucket of scorn and suspicion on WBEC and all the other Vox stations in Berkshire County. Vox local GM Peter Barry has to know this. Barry was as much betrayed by Kratka as Sturgeon, and Peter has every right to be upset. All he’s trying to do is run the best set of radio stations that he can given the local situation, and he’s got to fight his own news director.

THE PLANET’s Investigation Yields a Harvest

Our investigation into The Great WTBR Flip Flop continues. THE PLANET continues to peck away at the most significant question: Who told Kratka to pull the plug on Bill Sturgeon? We have these recent developments to report.

A Public Records Request that we made had released pertinent information. The haul consists of public documents that “They” wanted to keep secret. You don’t keep secrets from Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski. On there behalf, we got the documents. Read on, dear friends.

Letter to Larry

Last night, we tried again. We sent the following message to Kratka:

SUBJECT LINE: “WHO PRESSURED YOU?”

LARRYI shall try again. Who pressured you and why?You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by coming clean.I invite you to name the names. I’m hearing “this one” and “that one,” but only you know for sure.Refusing to answer only drags the story on, further.I ask with all due respect.Cordially,DAN

Kratka did not respond. What, you were expecting him to warble like a songbird, he, who is scared to death that we might reveal who is standing behind the curtain, pulling his strings and levers?

—– 00 —–

Alf Talks to Larry

SCHOOL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN ALF BARBALUNGA

THE PLANET has learned that School Committee chairman Alf Barbalunga spoke to Kratka on Monday. He told Alf that “Bill Sturgeon will not be participating with a radio show on our station.” To which, THE PLANET replies, “No shit, Sherlock.” Here, it’s Monday, and that’s what K is telling Alf?! You cannot make this stuff up. Don’t you love the way this is phrased, as if Sturgeon of his own volition, chose “not to participate.” This is Krtaka at his spineless best. Of course Bill is not “participating.” Larry, you fired his ass.

The story gets better. Based on this snow-ball meeting, Barbalunga told his committee, “I feel confident in Larry’s management of our station, and ask that we respect his decision.”

Ding, ding, ding, ding, dong. Yes, dong.

Those are the alarm bells that go off when the little red flag pops up, indicating we have landed a whopper. Instead of bringing Kratka in tonight (school committee meets at 6 p.m. at the PHS library) to explain this turn of events and open it up for the board’s questions, Barbalunga “feels confident” and wants to “respect” the decision. On what basis, the chairman did not specify.

A Date for Judas, Aug. 22

THE PLANET has also learned that “l’affaire WTBR” has been placed on the Aug. 22 school committee agenda. Here’s what Barbalunga says about this: “At that time, Larry can present all of the good things our students are doing on the station. However, we can also start to speak about hiring protocols and begin to initiate any needed changes.”

Mr. Chairman, with all due respect, there’s one change that’s needed immediately. Your present program director, station manager, student adviser, or whatever the heck you call him should be suspended immediately, pending his Aug. 22 hearing. Mr. Chairman, need we draw you a map? This man in whom you have so much confidence has admitted he is a pawn to outside manipulation. Why do you have no interest in finding out who these people are?

Barbalunga issued his comments to the school committee following an inquiry by board member Kathy Amuso, asking for an update on WTBR. “Everything I hear is from the street,” Amuso told Barbalunga on Sunday, June 3. “We need to discuss this. We should have already done this.”

Amuso is spot on, and she’s speaking with the chess moves of someone who has far more experience as chair. Barbalunga should have been on top of the situation from the get-go. He wasn’t. The WTBR Affair found Alf asleep at the wheel.

Krol Speaks, On the Record

Meanwhile, our Right Hon. Good Friend John Krol responded forthrightly and upfront to our questions. That, alone, tells you a lot about the man. When a man “man’s up,” you have to respect that.

JOHN KROL

“Larry was pressured,” Krol told THE PLANET. “I can’t imagine a different scenario, since he [LK] was fully supportive of the program in our initial discussion with Bill and me.” Krol said he ”[did] not know for sure” who pressured Kratka, adding that he “would prefer not to speculate. I have not spoken to Larry regarding this detail.”

We asked Krol why he hadn’t spoken out in defense of Sturgeon and against what Kratka did to him. He answered this way: ”

I thought I was pretty clear, in my encouragement and involvement in creating the new show with Larry and Bill, that I was 100 percent behind Bill’s show that would have followed Good Morning Pittsfield from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Further, my public discussion with Bill on Good Morning Pittsfield on Tuesday (5/29) provided further details about the value of this new programming for the station, which I believe would have benefited the community. I encourage you to log onto goodmorningpittsfield.com to see the interview in its entirety.

Specifically to your question, let me remove any doubt. I am extremely disappointed with the turn of events the led to the cancellation of Bill’s show before it began. It would have provided further quality programming and excellent exposure for this “little station that could” (to quote Larry’s oft-used phrase), which only would have strengthened WTBR’s role as a community radio station.

Krol added that he ” completely disagrees” with the decision to pull the show, “and I hope the decision will be reversed.”

We thank our right honorable good friend for his comments.

—– 00 —–

Pummelin’ Pam Surfaces (Wasn’t It Only a Matter of Time?)

Now, ladies and gentleman, we introduce the next development, in the personage of none other than Pummelin’ Pam Malumphy. In case you lost track, THE PLANET is still on Pam’s official enemies list, a ponderous one at that, positively Nixonian. We list that badge under the “Honors and Awards” section of our curriculum vitae.

PAM MALUMPHY: Whoop-de-dang do!

You may recall that in a move that puzzled the Tea Leaf Readers, for some reason Stuart Chase, CEO of 1Berkshire hired Pummelin’ Pam for who knows what reason to do heaven knows what. Strangely enough, Malumphy is not listed on the 1Berkshire website site’s “Leadership Team” page, where you will find spiffy pictures and bios of Chase, Helena Fruscio, Lauri Klefos, and our good friend Mike Supranowicz (yes, the same Mike Supranowicz who is prez and CEO of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, the guy who ordered poor Ashley Sulock, the Chamber’s marketing person, to keep her mouth shut about Meredith Nilan, if she knew what was good for her).

But First, Two Asides

As an aside, we hear there’s quite a cat fight going on among the three gals (Fruscio, Klefos, and Pummelin’ Pam) for who will is Queen Bee in the office.

As a further aside, it seems things are popping at 1Berkshire. The economic development organization’s last press release was issued on July 14, 2011. THE 1Berkshire website, in an undated news release issued when Malumphy was hired, lists her as “an economic development specialist,” whatever the heck that is. By the lack of economic development in the Berkshires, doesn’t appear as if Pam has found the right speciality. Malumphy was hired under a state grant (taxpayer money, what else) that expires at the end of this month. No word on whether Pummelin’ will remain with 1Berkshire beyond that.

We mention all this because we heard on Reliable Source that Malumphy was hired by 1Berkshire with the express understanding that she would engage in none of the abrasive, shrill, “revenge politics” for which she became so famous as a one-term councilors and a four-time election loser. And yet that appears to be exactly what she has been doing, monkeying around where she said she wouldn’t. We would ask Pam directly, but, remember, we’re The Enemy. She doesn’t talk to us. We have, though, through a mutual Third Party friend, requested comment from Pam.

Pam to Jake: ‘Your Response is Unacceptable and Dismissive’

Now don’t tell anyone, because no one is supposed to know, but …

THE PLANET has learned that on the morning of May 31, Pummelin’ Pam e-mailed Pittsfield School Supt. Howard “Jake” Eberwein III.

She wrote this to Jake:

Subject Line — “WTBR”

And so I can be clear particularly having spoken with members of the School Committee about this matter. My conversation less than a week ago with John (Vosburgh) was evidently only one of many, many calls that had been previously made to the School Committee about Bill, John, and the use of the radio station by adults for talk shows. Going forward, I will continue my conversations with Principal Vosburgh and the School Committee. It is disturbing to me, Jake, that you are willing to make uninformed and, what I consider, dangerous decisions to have anyone be ‘welcome’ to host programs on TBR without dialogue with the broader community whose tax dollars are paying for our schools to thrive.

Is this the smoking gun?

The day before, Malumphy told Jake:

I want to be very clear here. I am extremely fond of and have great respect for Larry. Many of us are thankful for his efforts to save WTBR but that is not what is being questioned. It’s about creating a coherent policy about adults using the station for talk shows. And, frankly, Jake, your response below is unacceptable and dismissive. I have already left a voicemail with you and Alf and will look forward to hearing back from both of you.

Tracing back the kite-tail of e-mails, Jake had told Malumphy that he had made his decision: John Krol, Jake wrote to Malumphy, is “welcome to continue his show and Bill is welcome to host a show. As I suggested in my last email, your concerns pertaining to adult participation will be reviewed by the principal (who supervises the club) and the school committee (who hold the license).” A stand-up e-mail from Jake, wouldn’t you say?

—– 00 —–

Now we ask: Would a reasonable person conclude that perhaps Pam Malumphy was part of the pressure nagging at the School Department? But who was she after? Krol or Sturgeon? Both? and Why? It appears that Pummelin’s target was Krol, and that she used Sturgeon as a means to try to undermine Krol. Again, not knowing definitively and suggesting this possibility on the basis of what information we do have and simple logic, we would ask Pam directly, but she refuses to accept our calls, whether they be by phone, e-mail, carrier pigeon, Facebook, Twitter, smoke signals, Pony Express, in-person, or cuneiform.

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Letters from Kratka to Sturgeon Put Bill in Favorable Light but Not Larry

Finally, in our haul of records, we came across this highly relevant exchange between Kratka and Sturgeon. LK sent it to BS on May 29 at 2:20 p.m.

Kratka writes:

When John [Krol] said we needed to CHAT on Friday, apparently he just wanted to talk to me about issues with the station. There was no meeting…just a friendly chat in the hall about other things with WTBR. John and I meet all the time throughout the year. On a personal note, I am sick and tired of inuendos and rumors. Blogs are freedom of speech but so much BS….since bloggers who have been spreading their poison about WTBR, have never contacted me. Bunch of cowards.

I think its funny that no one who had an issue with your show asked me directly. So, after talking to Friday…..and you asked me a direct question…yes or no. I decided NO. Not because of you and what you would do….but I’m not going to put WTBR through this. I’ve worked for six years to make it a success. AND it is.

Bill, please move on….and I hope I hear you on WRRS-LP. You deserve a home where the tiny minds

This is an illuminating message. We learn that:

* LK is “sick and tired of innuendo and rumors.” Do you believe this, from a purported “journalist”? He himself creates the situation’s turmoil, refuses to reveal the truth or the names behind the pressure, only to complain about the rumors after he eschews the opportunity to set the record straight, as only he can! Unbelievable.

* “Blogs are freedom of speech but so much BS,” he writes. First, we presume he’s not referring to “Bill Sturgeon” by BS. Second, this statement equates free speech with bullshit. In other words, Larry Kratka thinks the First Amendment is bullshit. Amazing.

* “Bloggers … spreading poison” have “never contacted me.” First, do you think he means PLANET VALENTI?! Yeah, most likely. Second, when THE PLANET does contact him, asking him what’s going on, he e-mails us not once, not twice, but three times. Each time, he answers with one word, all caps: “NOTHING.” Kratka is like the kid who kills both parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he’s an orphan.

* “I decided NO,” on the show, he tells the guy he’s just betrayed. “You deserve a home where the tiny minds … can’t touch you,” LK says, ignoring his even tinier mind that just caved in to pressure after he had just found that home which he tell Sturgeon he “deserves.” Double Amazing!

The longer Kratka allows this story to drag on, the more We the People are telling him: “See the middle finger? Please sit on it and rotate. Larry, for your own good, come clean.”

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THE WARMING EARTH SLEEPS BELOW, ABOVE THE CHILLY SKY HOVERS. ALL AROUND, WITH A STATIC SOUND, THE MAN OF RADIO SHAKES OFF HIS COVERS. WE DO NOT SPEAK TOO SOON. WE MERELY SPEAK IN CODE BENEATH THE SINKING MOON. D-1718.

64 Responses to “D-DAY, COURAGE, AND THE EROSION OF AND COMPLACENCY FOR FREEDOM … PLANET FILES PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST IN ‘THE GREAT WBTR FLIP-FLOP’ AND WE HIT PAYDIRT … YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT’s IN THE ‘SECRET E-MAILS’! … KRATKA: KOME KLEAN. YOUR KUNNING KAPER IS KRASHING DOWN”

I agree. Pam has guts and stands up to the GOBs. For example, I really like the way she did not accept Jake III’s typical disingenuous drivel for an answer. Believe it, his principals only exist to do the bidding of the king.

I treat everyone the same: By their actions, not their intentions, thoughts, or other items sacred to the soul, that no one can know from the outside. It has nothing to do with her liking me or not or me liking anyone else or not. We are simply going where the investigation leads us. It’s in neutral the rest of the time.

“Get a dose of her in jackboots and kilt
She’s killer-diller when she’s dressed to the hilt
She’s the kind of a girl that makes the “News of the World”
Yes you could say she was attractively built.
Yeah yeah yeah.”

Keep up the good work Dan, I thought we lived in a Representative Republic ? Where decisions were made through our elected representatives ( School Committee members ). A full investigation of this should be priority of Pittsfield School Committee. These are public funds being treated like they are private monies….

We went to battleship cove a few months back and were able to go inside the ships and the Higgins Boats. Those who were not there will never know what those brave men did and how they must have felt on that morning and continuing to move forward even though death was pretty likely.

Scott-
I had the pleasure of working with an engineer who was in charge of a landing boat that day. He also assisted in navigating a landing craft at Iwo Jima.
He told me some of the details involved with both operations. Never too involved or too graphic. Just the facts. He made you feel like you were there when he (rarely) talked of such things.
Those men were some tough bastards. God Bless them.

Why is it wrong for any one person to express their views on any subject to any other person? I thought that was covered under the First Amendment of the Constitution of The United States of America? I guess that it’s alright for some but not others.

Dan, thanks for your tribute to those who fought and the many who gave the ultimate sacrifice on the beaches at Normandy on June 6, 1944. My father was a Technical Sergeant in the US Army and landed at Utah Beach. He later fought in Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge and in 1945 crossed the Rhine into Germany. He came home safe, with a wound in his knee that would bother him for much of the rest of his life. Many did not come home and lay silently above the shores of Normandy in one of the most peaceful places on Earth.

As with many of the Greatest Generation, my father rarely spoke about his experiences in World War II, but when he did, it was almost always about the guys he served with, not himself. He once told me that on the final day of the war, he was walking on a street in Germany with a fellow soldier, and a sniper shot his friend in the head. He told me the sniper had a 50/50 choice to make, and he chose the other guy. That memory certainly haunted him, and it was the only time I can remember him speaking about one of his individual experiences in the war.

On this day, a thank you to all of the veterans who have served our country and defended our freedom, from the American Revolution to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hope you’re being sarcastic because the facts don’t support the idea that she was drunk. Despite the fact that the threshold for what is provable through evidence is non-existent on a website like this, in actual courts there needs to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Additionally, Scott is correct. A continuation without a finding is a typical result for these kinds of cases in these circumstances. There has been no great miscarriage of justice, no vast GOB conspiracy and no decision out of the ordinary.

I guess it’s OK to nearly kill a guy with a vehicle after what had to be a night of heavy drinking. So she can’t drive at night for a month and has to write a letter to Peter Moore. This is seriously out of whack considering she killed the guy just about.

How much you want to bet that letter never gets written, and when it doesn’t, there will also be no consequences. Probation without having to visit with a probation officer – she got the Angelo Plan. Thanks Dad.

Sometimes overwhelmed by the indignation , cynicism , and occasional self-righteousness that permeates our community I gave myself a task designed to accentuate my own positive feelings about Pittsfield . I asked myself to list as many things that I could in 15 minutes that I find unique to Pittsfield that i love and am proud of …..
so this is my list -
Pittsfield is a great place to be born in … I mean actually at BMC …my daughter and grandchildren were born there and it is a wonderful , safe , supportive place to arrive into this world .
Pittsfield is a fine place to be buried in . Pittsfield and St. Joe cemeteries offer solmenity , solace and comfort to thos e who mourn.
Now for my inbetween-
Girls Inc afterschool programs
The CYC kids basketball leagues and cheerleader programs for the smaller kids
the christian Center
The salvation Army free meals for those in need including and especially those families eating together , enjoying the spaghetti as a family . St stephens too .
Goodwill and their service to the disabled .
The Ralph Froio center – Glenn Milller anyone ?
Tyler St Kirks Hobbies , Fin and feather
Elm St – Joanies – what a breakfast for inder 5$
Allendale – Joannes for all your fabric needs
West Housie Jimmys
The creaky wooden floor at Carr s on north St
The austiwittock trail
The PHS Dome
our library with free internet access
The Lost Arrow painting , the mummy the dodo bird, the winged victory statue at the Museum The old berkshire Antaneum building and the couthouse – awesome architecture interior as well as exteriors
The Brien center and NA and AA
The ice rink at the Boys and Girls club
The arboreteum at springside and the playground there too
all the great Houses of Worship in Pittsfield , reinforcing our moral foundation
The BCC cooking classes and their yearly dinners
Our softball complexes
our fishing derbies at wild acres for the kids
The winter carnival queen ( i hope )
Canoe meadows
garden plots open to all off williams st
Brattle brook at kirvin park where your dog can wade in
Burbank park to swim and cookout on a hot summer nite
Bousquet an in town skiing facility !!!
watching the aircraft land on a warm night at the Pittsfield Airport
the Fountain in Park square
The majestic War Memorial on Colt The memorial in Allendale and the Vietnam memorial at park Square , the civil war soldier there too .
The BMC Medical Education program the medical library open to the public , Jones 2 .
The new commons and getting a King Kone then strolling thru .
Ponterill , buying bait at the Onota boat livery or renting a boat
Itam ,Masons ELKs , the polish Community Center and the Falcons
Action Sports on North scuba anyone ? in the pool at the YMCA?
Arrowhead and the Pittsfield historical society
The pittsfield music school
The eagle for the funnies , obits -we all read them with sadness , respect and rememberance . Also the mountain man – ” 5 out of 4children like ice cream ” ( last week )
Adriens , Teo s , Teddys , Kellys
All the O connell murals – firefighters , police , vietnam , Harrys , Boys and girls
St. Joes church front yard
the east Side and Delg ‘ s- down boy – for the pizza , tripe and pitch – ok !
Instant Replay on Lyman
Soldier On
bocce at the GEAA
walking down North and feeling international with the India House , Panchos , and home at the Lantern
The Clock Shop too
The flashy BRTA buses
Briggs boulder – hasn t moved an inch Dan ” Glory weeps at valors bier .”
The little cinema
Baby animals at Hancock Shaker Village
the 15th at pontoosuc , the 6th at the GEAA
The Red Cross
Jodi s , Jaeschis , Viales
The burger at the Soda Chef !!!
Eleanor Sonsini s , who was a dear friend actually driving around in her staton wagon ( remember those ) filled with pet food
the Casey stengel sign on North st ..”.pitching is more important than hitting and vice versa ”
Berry pond at the Pittsfield state forest .. a neat walk
The enormous Flag on the Berkshire Bank Bldg. on independence day
the pop Corner
Kens Bowl
Candlepins in the wright Boldg on North St – like re entering 1950
Allengate Arch
sledding at Clapp park
the 4H fair on Utility drive
Berkshire Flower Co. – welcome to Pittsfield !!
Morningside Bakery and lampiasi s
the Sportsman , Madison , Parkside , lachs – neighborhood joints
Spectcular sheep on the Berkshire Life lawn
The Highland counter
PHS , Taconic and St Joe football
welcome Pittsfield Suns at Wahconah park where I saw greg Maddux !! and david clyde.
Flynns , County Ambulance , hospice , The American cancer Society relay for life there when you need them they are right there .
about 40,000 neighbors – we live in Pittsfield

I am just curious how an apology letter can be written to be meaningful when a brain injury as well as other life threatening injuries have been sustained. Not to mention that 6 months later Peter is still working on his recovery.

Can you imagine…

Dear Peter AKA Deer

I am sorry for almost killing you and for not stopping to help you after I hit you. I was in a hurry though and had to get home to Dad to ask him what I should do. …

PS my Mom and Dad said the ‘boo boos’ on you head, neck and leg are getting better. Dad said he has made it all better for everyone involved.

A letter of apology! What joke. Maybe Daddy can write the note for his daughter , along with a written note to her employer excusing her from being absent from work due to being in court. Ever the English teacher , then Mom can edit the letter for both of them.

On a side note, doesn’t being court ordered to write such a letter point to being found guilty of running Peter over. I hope the apology note comes with a return address for Peter M to send the date of a court hearing for a civil case.

“Dear Peter Moore:
I am wicked pissed, you know, because of the trouble you, like, put me through. How dare you? I like had to, you know, miss two hair appointments and a pedicure having my daddy bail me outta this won. After I hit you, I thought you were a deer (LMAO)! …”

Nilan. the name has been soiled for in perpetuity. I know one of the Berkshire young professionals who was at the party in GB. She says Meredith Nilan was seen drinking heavily that night, The ByPs were basically told if you know what’s good for your career in the city of Pitts., you better not say anything. No question this was fixed by her old man

After the vote in Wisconsin think the Unions are nervous? Also look what happened in Calif and the pensions, think people are started to say enough is enough?? The people will start to stand up and do what must be done. Liberals take notice. Now we must get ride of the worst President ever.

CONCERNED
The Wisconsin vote was a huge victory for the forces of maturity, a healthy verdict for the rest of us. The corrupt gravy train ride enjoyed by public unions on the backs of bedraggled taxpayers is coming to a long-overdue end.

Throughout his long career as Supt. of Parks & Recreation for the City of Pittsfield he never spoke of his connection to Omaha Beach. His heroism was that of a different kind of soldier…he directed countless waves of young Americans onto the sands of Normandy that spelled out sure death for many. As.Beach Master at Omaha Beach he was a great American who stood up to tyranny as a member of the Greatest Generation. It wasn’t until he died that it was revealed that he was a true American Hero….Thank you Vincent J. Hebert

Let the games begin.A 150 speak out against school budget cuts.Will the Mayor fold, of course.We must dig alittle deeper in our pockets for the sake of our children and there future.Now a must put on my boots for that BS.They could actual cut more out of the budget if they didnt have there own interests at heart.Just like the movie ground hogs day, same results every year instead of day.

Well spoken, Joe. Pittsfield is soooooooo weired when it comes to this stranglehold that “public education,” so-called, has on the politicians. We need Dan Bianchi to imitate the Wisconsin governor. He won’t do it, though, because Pittsfield is mainly composed of indigents, criminals, drug and alcohol abusers, welfare recipients, illegals, spawn of incest, and other similar-type citizens. The thoughtful, decent people are either in their 80s and 90s, too busy working at dead-end jobs to make ends meet, or too defeated by apathy caused by our Fearless Leaders.

Did you see the ruse pulled off at the school committee meeting? It was a debacle and a display of classic extortion. Students and teachers are paraded before the public and make sincere pitches to the board. But they have been used and manipulated. The lowest moment came when someone expressed anger and outrage claiming that any number of school departments were at stake of being cut, yet not one iota of proof that would or even could happen.

It was the classic, “give us the money we want or we shall shoot this dog.”

Exactly. A responsible, honest super would look to to trim the fat elsewhere ,like the JRC, which takes a cool half million out of the budget. But wait, Jake’s dad runs that program, so he can’t cut that useless money-sponge…
Isn’t this a conflict of interest? Nobody even brings that up!

CHARLES
School committee bleating of the Special Interests was pathetic. They brought out “The Children,” again, and you know, it will likely work again. We need a bit of Wisconsin sanity in the People’s Republic of Pittsfield.